Sports Pages
"Sports Pages" is Episode 10 in Season 7. It originally aired on March 30, 1990. Synopsis The episode begins with LeVar working out at a gymnasium. He is working on the peck machine doing his last set of ten repetitions. He tells the viewers, "Sometimes when your body is exercising real hard, you get to a point where you feel like you can't go on. That is called "hitting the wall". If you can break through that wall, you feel like you can go on forever. He does his last repetitions with great determination. He tells the viewers that it takes so much of that to do what you want. You really have to want to do it. Those thoughts and feelings come from your heart and mind when you're working so hard. LeVar explains to the viewers that the thoughts and feelings you experience when you play a sport are important. For example, in cycling you experience the excitement of pedaling hard and fast in a big race. In ice hockey, you have to concentrate on the puck. In running an obstacle course, your mind and body are straining to be ready for the upcoming challenges. In horse racing, you get that feeling when you pound along the track on the horse's back. In swimming, you really compete against yourself. LeVar himself is seen doing so and beats his time. He tells the viewers, "In swimming, like in any sport, the most important person you have to beat is yourself. Every time you go out there, you have to perform better than you did the time before. The best thing to do is to always do your own personal best." Liz Crandal, a top-ranked member of the US Gymnastics Team, knows a lot about giving every performance her personal best. She says she started gymnastics at age 5. She claims she liked it when she first started. She wanted to do it so much. She thinks it's important to be confident in what you do because you are faced with a make-or-break situation. For her, the parallel bars is one of the easier events, though it takes a lot of strength and condition. In the floor exercise event, which is a combination of dancing and acrobatics, you need a lot of endurance. The balance beam is a little scary at first because you could fall off if you're a little off the edge and not born with balance. After you practice and get used to it, it's not at all hard. Whenever Liz gets scared of a trick, she tells herself, "I can do it and I'll do fine," and it usually gets her going. She says that when you do perfect performances in all your events or as they call it "hitting the most", it makes you feel so good inside because all the practice has paid off. A series of sports images is seen during a song about doing your best and getting the feeling of making it all the way. After it, LeVar is seen playing basketball against himself. He tries for a shot, but he misses the hoop. He tells himself, "I'm going to make that shot today if it's the last thing I do." He tells the viewers, "Setting goals in sports and working hard to reach them is important to know." Figure skating pair Kim and Wayne Seybold set a goal for themselves that was almost impossible for them to reach. But they were determined to make the skating team. Kim comments that being a great skater takes a lot of determination, practice, and courage to do it in front of many people. The major obstacle in their career was a financial one. Their parents started a fundraiser for them to go out and skate and do what they could, no matter if they made the team or not. Kim says her brother is the partner she can trust the most when skating together. Wayne claims his biggest fear is dropping his sister while he's carrying her high in the air. The way he overcomes that fear is just by practicing his skating. The more you practice, the better you'll get and the more confident you'll be. Like in other things you practice, you may fall down at times. Like the old saying goes, "When you fall off that horse, get back on." When they were young, Kim and Wayne had dreams of going to national skating championships. They reached everyone of their dreams. They say that if you want something badly enough, you must believe in yourself. You really have to want it, and you've got to reach down inside yourself and say, "This is what I want to do, and I'm going to do it." LeVar is still playing basketball. He tries again to score a basket and this time, he makes the shot. He tells the viewers, "It's wonderful when the hard work pays off." He has a recommendation for athletes to read. A book entitled Sports shows you information on any sport at all that you can think of. He concludes that sports aren't always about competition, they're also about having fun. There is nothing better for him than a relaxing ride on his bike to finish a hard day of working out. He even has some friends who are going to ride along with him. Review Books *Miss Nelson Has a Field Day *Making the Team *Soccer Sam Highlighted Book *Sports Category:Season 7 Category:Episodes